The Teddy's Choice
by ElementsOfSapphire
Summary: Short: A cute The New Avengers tale, once again sharing my views on the Purdey and Gambit debate. Mike decides that the time has come for change, whilst Purdey feels the same, just a little too late. Could they have shared their final assignment? (Probably more K rating, but again, T rating to be sure.)


The Teddy's Choice

By ElementsOfSapphire

DISCLAIMER/Please Note: This/these stories are all purely for fan-fun purposes only; no copyright infringement intended. I own none of the rights relating to either The Avengers, nor The New Avengers; none of the characters, sets, the lot. I'm awfully sorry if posting such stories relating to the show is not allowed or is unwanted. In which case, please accept my every apology and inform me so I can take them down. Once again, I'm just a teen fan that wants to get their work shown and evaluated, so please tell me if its is wished for my story/stories to be taken down- or even my entire username. Thank you :)

Extra Notes: My First proper story; ok, it's short, but at least it is a start! The inspiration for this came from the TNA episode 'Trap' where I noticed that when their plane had crashed, and Purdey was trying to find her comrades, both her and Mike tried to hold each other's hands. So it's a tiny shot that gave me the idea, but it lead to a story, so all is well! Hope you enjoy :)

P.s Steed is in this... he's just a little obsolete, I'm afraid.

* * *

"You'd better get going, Purdey." smiled Steed, passing the woman her tickets before pulling her into a short, prompt hug. "I'll be joining you in a few days, so just enjoy the holiday before I turn up, ok?"

"Oh, we will" she beamed as she linked arms with a rather sullen Mike Gambit. He waited a while, then glanced at her woefully, pulling his arm back out from her grasp.

"You will, Purdey-girl... This is good-bye by me too, I'm afraid."

"Oh? And where are you going?" she inquired, looking abruptly at the tickets in his hand. His clutch was tight, his hands white from the stress. He didn't know how to tell her, let alone if he _could _tell her; but what he did know, was that he was a fool to have left it this late. He shuffled his feet awkwardly on the airport's pavement, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the woman.

"Do you remember a few weeks ago McKay was asking if anyone wanted to do that overseas double job..? Well I signed myself up."

"The German one?" Purdey breathed, leaning slightly against her suitcase in the shock. "The three year course? But that doesn't start yet!"

"I'm going now so I get used to my surroundings; I'm more efficient when I know where I stand." He smiled weakly, trying to hold back the few tears he didn't imagine he'd have felt. "Of course, when it does start, I'm not allowed to communicate back to England until the case is closed. So, Purdey- girl, this really is Good-bye for a while..."

"You mean you're going for three years? Why the heck didn't you tell me, Mike?"

"I wasn't sure if I could. _You_ and Steed were the only reasons holding me back in the first place; there's nothing really left here for me Purdey. Perhaps there I'll be able to find a proper relationship, a family, forget my demons. You're both good friends and I'll see you again, but John and I agreed that it would be a good step for me, new experiences and all that."

"You could have done all that here!" she snapped back, her big teal eyes slowly glossing over. "What if I never get to see you again? You're my best friend, Mike!"

"You will, I'll make sure of it; I'm just bored of waiting for something to happen in my life, I need to do something for myself. I want to try and start again, and this is a good chance. Surely you noticed my being elusive? Some days you just couldn't find me, right? That was me out trying to find something to do with my life; something apart from the job for me to focus on."

"But Mike..." Her eyes were no longer glossed; instead it was her entire face, streaked by a stream of tears that bubbled out from her eyes.

"I'll see you again, I promise." Gambit breathed, pulling her into a hug as she cried. Purdey clutched onto his cardigan, her fists as white as his now. Through involuntary deep sniffs between the tears, she smelt and logged his scent to her memory, his soothing voice and his warm, safe touch.

"_Purdey,"_ warned Steed looking at the departure times which were displayed above them, "You really need to go."

Mike gently, softly pulled the woman from his chest, holding her at arm's length. He brushed a tear from her cheek, and some hair from her face, fighting the tears stronger than before.

"Do you want me to walk you down?" he asked, letting go of her so she could collect her suitcase.

"No, no, I'm alright" she smiled weakly. The woman held out her hand strongly towards Gambit, prompting him for a hand shake. "Well, good bye it is then, Michael Gambit."

"Good- bye, Purdey-girl," he answered back, taking her hand to kiss her knuckles instead. Her saucer, glazed eyes met his for a moment, glistening under the bright lights which shone from above. She looked away briefly, partially unzipping her suitcase to collect a small, beige teddy-bear which she passed to the man.

"I was going to give him to you in France, but it looks like you're not coming now so I might as well pass it over instead of wasting the gesture." She began, zipping her suitcase back up and starting to walk away. "There's a, um, message under his ear on a tag, but you can pull that out now; don't bother reading it, it doesn't mean anything."

Purdey ran off towards the gate, keeping her face away from the two men. You couldn't see it now; it seemed to be coated in a translucent layer, which was just the tears as they fell and clung to her face, so very many tears. _It's your fault, Purdey_ she told herself, showing the woman at the gate her tickets and passport before making the trek down toward the plane. _You never told him, did you? He'd waited long enough for you to get over your silly little frightened ways; he's only human, he can't hang around forever. Wish you'd told him now, don't you? Wish he knew how you felt about him, eh? You had your chances, so many, many chances... You've only got you to blame now. No one else._

Mike waited at the gate, queuing behind the other hundred or so people waiting to make a visit to Germany too. He held his bear in his hands, close against his chest, too scared to read what she might have written, too worried it may make him cry or something ridiculous like that. He glanced across the terminal, watching as she hurried past the security and down towards the plane: _She's gone now, Mike. She won't see you cry now, read the damn note, you know you want to, don't you?! _He lifted the toy a little higher before pulling back its ear and smiling slightly at the oh-so familiar handwriting.

Mike :)

There's something I've never said to you, but it's extremely overdue, as I'm hoping you'll agree. You'll probably know the reason I've never said it before, but I'm proud to say that I think I'm over that now; so here goes nothing:

Mike Gambit, I love you!

Perhaps yours (please?), Purdey xx

"Sir?" quizzed the woman at the gate, looking at the preoccupied Mike, her hand out for his tickets. He wondered how many times he must have re-read that note for him to be this far down the line already..."Passport, sir?"

"I, uh..." he stopped himself, thinking for a moment. "These tickets, do they cover anywhere in Europe? They're MI ones- I'm pretty sure they do..."

"Service related tickets do, yes sir."

"And that flight over there; is it fully booked?"

The woman, evidently aggravated by his questions, forced a smile and consulted a large chart which lay on a desk beside her. She ran her finger along the flight numbers column, presumably searching for the one connected to his inquiry.

"You're in luck sir, there are three seats still available; but you'll have to be quick, I think Mandy is shutting the gate."

"Thanks, I will." replied Mike, shoving his tickets and the bear into his pocket and leaving his suitcase behind. He scaled the several barriers, not wanting to take the longer route, giving glances of his I.D to any security guards that looked as though they were about to question him. _I haven't got time for them_ he thought to himself, jumping over the last few bars. The woman at the gate saw him coming and grinned, quickly opening the door again.

"You'll have to hurry sir; sprint if you can. I don't usually let people through this late, but I can see you have I.D."

"Thanks, Mandy." He grinned, finding it slightly amusing to have used her name. He ran full pelt down the hallway, forcing himself to speeds he had no idea he could accomplish. It didn't take him long to run the distance, but the door to the plane was still closing up and the faint sound of a starting engine was become distinctively louder. He racked on the door, praying he shouldn't be left behind, and to his luck a short, kindly looking man hurriedly opened the door again.

"Please be quick." He called to Mike as he entered in, "We leave in a few minutes."

"I'm sorry, thank you...Is first class full?" he asked the gentleman at the door, showing his pre-booked first class ticket to Germany, followed by his I.D again to reassure the man.

"No, there's one seat in there and two remaining in standard. The two in standard are on their own but the one in first I'm afraid you'll have to sit beside someone else, sir."

"Where about is the seat?" Mike asked, trying desperately to take a look past the curtains which divided the plane.

"Over there, sir," smiled the conductor, pulling back the said curtain and pointing to a large, luxurious looking chair, "beside's the woman with the short blonde hair."

_Short blonde hair? What luck! _"Thank you, sir. I'll just find my seat then" smiled Mike, making his way along the narrow corridor. As he drew nearer to his seat, he could already hear the faint muffled, sniffs of a crying woman, and instantly felt bad to have done this to Purdey. He hated to see her cry- hell, he hated to see her frown; but to think he had made her do this was beyond comprehension. He sat down beside her, surprised that she didn't even look up to investigate who was sitting next to her. He considered perhaps coughing to gain her attention, but didn't really think that suited their situation. So instead, he leant down to level with her face, closed his eyes and kissed her cheek slowly through her hair which had fallen to cover her face.

She looked back up at him, her eyes now red raw and her lip still whimpering. "Mike?" she asked hopefully, rubbing her eyes and smudging the make-up further still.

"It's me" he smiled, stroking the tears away from under her eyes, "I came to say that I accept your offer."

"My offer?" Purdey quizzed, not really understanding what he was saying, "You'll miss your flight, Mike." She continued, considerably more bitterly than before having gained some more composure.

"They'll find someone else to go, loads of people wanted that place; I'll just phone Steed in the morning, they'll find someone soon enough... and what do you mean 'my offer?', surely you remember writing it?" Mike took the teddy bear back from his pocket, beaming at what he knew it hid beneath its ear. He used it playfully, making it 'walk' up Purdey's leg, up her chest, up her neck and then 'peck' her nose. "You know" he said in a gruff, 'bearish' voice, "The message I sent on your behalf, m'lady."

Purdey couldn't help but smile at Mike's bear impression, giggling softly as she did. "Oh yes," she replied to the bear, stroking its head, "That message; thank you for reminding me, Mr. Bear." She had always found it impossible to stay mad at Mike for long, and seeing as she could see a chance of not losing him now, she could feel herself relaxing slightly.

"No problem, but if you don't mind, I'll take a rest up here for now; I've had an eventful day." Mike replied using the same, gruff voice, placing the bear on top of Purdey's bag which lay on a counter between them.

"But what about your new life; your new start in Germany?" inquired Purdey, watching as he placed the bear beside her.

"If what you offered is true, I don't need to go, do I? I was wrong to have lost hope in you, wrong to have thought you'd never offer, wasn't I? But then I thought Larry had hurt you, and you were always going to dinner with other men too..."

"I went dancing with you Mike; I shared my lifelong passion with you _as well as_ dinners and coffees and holidays; I tried to show you how special you were to me in ways that wouldn't make me scared; can you see that now? You respected that I was too scared for a long time; you were so, so patient. I should never have made you wait- you've nothing to blame yourself for here. It was me just being foolish- I just realised that too late and now you're off to Germany and I blew my chance. I'm sorry to have been the reason you wasted your time here; I'm sorry I ever gave you hope or lead you on or gave you tastes of something I wasn't prepared to give until it was too late... I'm just sorry, Mike."

"I'm not going to Germany now; not since I read that!" he shot back, pointing to the bear. "I'm coming on this trip and am not leaving your side; you're stuck with me now. You just wrote me a letter confirming all I thought would never happen, was what you always hoped would; do you have any idea how amazing that made me feel? I left half my life in the airport to run after you, Purdey-girl."

"What are you saying, Mike?" asked Purdey, her tone soft and doubting. She looked out of the window and saw that they must have taken off already. She hadn't noticed of course, too busy with her conversation with Mike. Purdey looked at him, realising he'd lost his chance to run back off the plane, to quit the conversation and lead the life he'd been telling her about in the airport. However, he didn't change his expression; he just continued to smile at her. He'd already made his decision, beside the plane had already left and he didn't fancy jumping..."Mike, you didn't get off... You're stuck on here now."

"Purdey for crying out loud; I _want_ to be on this plane with you, I'm not getting off! How many more times? I didn't think you wanted me in your life and now you're telling me you do, why would I want to go? It's everything I dreamed of and more and now you're sending me away again... have you changed your mind? Is that it?"

"No! No of course I hadn't. You were the first man in eight years I said that to; I was hardly going to say it lightly, was I? I meant every word... I'd cuddle you now if we weren't on a plane."

"Does that bother you?" winked Mike, shuffling closer to her in his seat, realising she must finally be believing him.

"No... Not really, I guess." she replied, gradually beginning to grin "So long as you're being genuine."

Mike took Purdey's hands in his, turning his body to face her properly. "There's only one way to solve this, isn't there?" he smiled, keeping her gaze stuck in his, "We both say it on the count of three, ok?"

"Alright." She replied, still a little weary, "one."

"Two." He continued, breathing slower and slower as she did the same.

"Three." She concluded, before opening her mouth to speak again:

"I love you." They said in union, both beaming like Cheshire cats as they heard each other saying the same thing. Purdey gasped, covering her mouth with her hand in shock whilst Gambit simply extended his smile, laughing hysterically.

The plane juddered slightly as it hit a slight patch of turbulence, and the short motion sent the pair (who had been far too preoccupied to do up their safety belts) into each other's arms. They giggled like children as they realised the position they were in, both too happy, too hysterical to act rationally and see that as a warning to put their belts on. The same man that had directed Mike into the plane not twenty minutes before walked past them. He was pushing a trolley filled with multiple treats and drinks; the flight was far too short to have a meal offered too them, but as always, snacks were offered generously.

"Can I get you anything?" he smirked as he saw the two in each other's arms. _He pulled remarkably quickly, _he thought to himself, slowing as he got beside them.

"Oh, no thank you," beamed Purdey, keeping her eyes transfixed with Mike's. "I've got everything I could want right here, thank you." She leant slowly forward, closing her eyes for what she would hope to be her first kiss with _the_ Mike Gambit, but was surprised to feel one of Gambit's fingers press softly against her lips.

"Perhaps a packet of your marshmallows, if you have any?"

"Certainly sir, that's two and half pence, please." smiled the man, exchanging the packet with Mike's money and whistling as he trundled off down the plane again.

"For later," said Mike, gesturing at the sweets. "Ted can look after them for now." He continued, placing the packet beside the bear. Mike waited for Purdey to lean forward, but she didn't; Purdey waited for Mike to move, but he didn't, leaving both sitting and staring rather awkwardly before Mike burst into laughter again.

"Well are you coming over here or not?" he inquired, gesturing at the flashing 'you can now release your seatbelt sign' above them.

"What do you mean?" she retorted, confused why she should have to move.

"Well I'm not leaning over your bag and a bear, that's for certain... so can you stand up please?"

"Alright..." she replied, still not one hundred percent sure what Mike was leading to. She squealed slightly as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him, practically lifting her off her feet. He hauled her gently onto his knee before grinning again, supporting her with his arms positioned strongly around her.

"That's better." he quipped, Purdey blushing slightly in embarrassment as other passengers glared their way. "Don't worry about them; they're just jealous, pretentious snobs"

"Oh, I know that" she smiled, having relaxed slightly. She let herself fall into Mike's warm embrace, closing her eyes and cuddling contently.

"I guess today's that day you always spoke of"

"Excuse me?" she quizzed, pulling away to see his face. She was confused by his statement, but too dazed to care _that_ much.

"You know, 'Mike Gambit, one of these days...' and well, by the looks of things, today _is _that day."

Purdey thought for a moment, her sea green eyes never leaving his stare. On analysing, he couldn't have been speaking more truth. If any day _was_ to be _that _day, then this was it. Confessing her affections appeared to be nowhere near as hard as she imagined it to be; nowhere near the sort of pain she thought she would suffer. Perhaps her joy overwhelmed the 'Larry Affect', maybe that was it. But all said and done, she was as happy as a Beaver in a dam... and today _was _that day.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." She smiled before carefully, slowly leaning closer and closer to Mike's face. He felt her hand reaching across him, his shiver from anxiety becoming ever stronger. He watched as her grin continued to grow and grow and enlarge even more. _Is it really that day?_ He thought, it feeling too good in his mind to be true. There was her face, barely a centimetre from his, about to kiss him for the first time and...

"Purdey... Is that a marshmallow?"

"Yeah, yeah it is. Do you want one?" she inquired, lifting the packet from Ted's grasp and sitting up once again on Mike's knee. He sighed heavily, feeling stupid to have not have even contemplated the thought that she was merely stretching over for one of those blasted gelatine blobs.

"Plenty of time for what _you_ were expecting in the years to come; but marshmallows? Oh, they're a now thing."

"Purdey; they're sweets. I could have got you more in France."

"No point in wasting them though" she lamented, taking one from the packet and plonking it into his mouth to stop him from moaning further. Purdey gently pecked her comrade on the cheek, to which he grinned a marshmallowly smile. _Close enough_ he confirmed, continuing to chew.

* * *

"Hello, Purdey?" sought a tired Steed the following morning, having called the hotel where he knew she was to be staying until he arrived.

"No Its Mike I'm afraid; Purdey's having her morning shower, can I be of help, Steed?" answered Gambit, surrounded by duck down cushions on a rather elegant sofa. The luxuries that came with being in a higher rank in the Ministry...

"And what would you be doing there at _this _time in the morning?"

"Just having a coffee, after all Steed, this is Purdey."

"Oh yes, that's true. It was you I was looking for, actually." chirped Steed, thankful he'd _finally _managed to track the man down. "I take it you're not going to Germany now then? Only if you're not Harper will take your place if that's alright?"

"I've got no reason to go there anymore, Steed. I was searching for a new life, but I've realised that my life in England is beyond perfect now," he began, stopping as Purdey stepped out from the en suite; her hair in a towel-turban, her body covered in _her_ favourite blue pyjamas and_ his_ favourite, beaming smile spread straight across her face."Beyond perfect." he repeated as Purdey knelt onto the bed, stretching over to place a kiss on his cheek before walking off in search for a hair dryer.

"Am I right in presuming Purdey has something to do with this?" toyed Steed playfully, knowing there could only be one reason Mike would be so happy: he was in Purdey's good books (for once).

"You're pretty much there, we just had some home truths to spill and I think we've cleared them now."

"Oh?" questioned Steed, rather more curious than he usually allowed himself to be, and well, ought to have been.

"I'll tell you when you arrive... Goodbye, Steed." Gambit placed the phone back down onto the receiver, shaking his head at Steed's little interrogation. _He's been spending too much time around Purdey._

"Was that Steed; is he coming today?" spoke the woman he was only just thinking of. This time she was without a head towel, her hair falling around to her shoulders, herself clothed in a red pair of shorts and cream jumper combo. He wondered what weather would be appropriate to wear a jumper with shorts, but didn't question... after all, it was Purdey.

"Yeah it was, and I'm not sure; I hope he is... I mean, he's my last hope for a change of clothes. I would try yours but they're a bit, um... flouncy."

"Mike Gambit, one of these days..." she sighed, letting her head collapse against the frame.

Mike picked out the teddy bear from where it had stayed the night in his trouser pocket, holding it out towards Purdey. "I thought we agreed that was yesterday." Mike chirped in the bear voice, making the toy waddle as it 'spoke.'

"So we did," she replied, walking away from the door.

Finally her life was complete, as was his. Both had the partner, the job, and the lives of their dreams. It would almost have been heavenly if it wasn't for Gambit's distinct lack of luggage; he just hoped John would have some bits going spare, if and when he arrived...

"I love you, Purdey-girl." He breathed as she huddled up against him on the sofa, resting her head on his shoulder and taking his hands in hers. Her hair was still rather damp, but he didn't complain, he was happy to just be _with _her, and by-George, he would have done that under water if need be.

"I know," she replied, watching her fingers mingle between his as they sat hand in hand.

_What were you expecting her to say, Mike? She's already confessed once and that was hard enough for her. Just be happy she's let you this far, you've got years to let her gather herself together, and that's if she wants to. Remember that, Mike; you're lucky as anything to even hear her confess once._

_Remember that. _

"I love you, too." She smiled, quietly and suddenly.

Mike turned to face her almost bemused, with absolutely no words to say. Instead, he cuddled her tighter as the rest of their lives began.

* * *

So it's a bit of a soft ending, but The New Avengers always had cute endings, so I thought I'd join in the craze. I'll post a more Steed related story soon; well, I hope I do! :D

Comment if you wish; I'd love to hear criticisms/likes/new ideas (especially the latter).


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